Fresh Windows 10 Install

[TaylorDean16]

So I want a completely fresh start with my pc. I have already got a windows 10 usb drive to reinstall windows, and no I want to completely wipe my drives and have a 100% fresh windows 10 install, not just the delete most of my apps option built into the settings app. I know this is a noob question but how do I actually wipe my drives to get a fresh start? Thanks!

[LukeSavenije]

you want to delete everything? just format it inside the iso.

[TaylorDean16]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

you want to delete everything? just format it inside the iso.

Yes, and how do I do that?

[homeap5]

If I may recommend something - don't. Your new installation will be not more "fresh", it will be the same Windows, works at the same speed but without all settings you made, all personalizations, all programs. After month you'll install all programs you need and your system will be the same. It's common myth that "fresh install" makes Windows faster. No, it makes it worse, without any tools, programs etc. It's just pointless work. If you have any problem with your system - many people can help you with that.

 

Don't made "fresh" install especially if you don't know anything about it (you asked how to wipe everything - that is basic knowledge). You'll end with another questions about drivers, settings etc. If you want you computer to work faster - upgrade it.

[TaylorDean16]

Just now, homeap5 said:

If I may recommend something - don't. Your new installation will be not more "fresh", it will be the same Windows, works at the same speed but without all settings you made, all personalizations, all programs. After month you'll install all programs you need and your system will looks the same. It's common myth that "fresh install" makes Windows faster. No, it makes it worse, without any tools, programs etc. It's just pointless work. If you have any problem with your system - many people can help you with that.

 

Don't made "fresh" install especially if you don't know anything about it (you asked how to wipe everything - that is basic knowledge). You'll end with another questions about drivers, settings etc. If you want you computer to work faster - upgrade it.

I just have a bunch of old files and crap I don't want on here anymore. I know that I can get rid of those by just using the regular old reset, but I'm just trying to get everything back to default. I think formatting the drive will wipe stuff off of it but I have crap on the drive where windows is installed too so I don't know how to go about that. It's not about making my pc go faster, just more about clearing up space and I don't want to do it all manually or do a half assed job where I only get some stuff but not all of it.

[LukeSavenije]

5 minutes ago, TaylorDean16 said:

I just have a bunch of old files and crap I don't want on here anymore. I know that I can get rid of those by just using the regular old reset, but I'm just trying to get everything back to default. I think formatting the drive will wipe stuff off of it but I have crap on the drive where windows is installed too so I don't know how to go about that. It's not about making my pc go faster, just more about clearing up space and I don't want to do it all manually or do a half assed job where I only get some stuff but not all of it.

well there is a button down in the menu at the disk. it has a eraser if I remember right

[homeap5]

5 minutes ago, TaylorDean16 said:

I just have a bunch of old files and crap I don't want on here anymore. I know that I can get rid of those by just using the regular old reset, but I'm just trying to get everything back to default. I think formatting the drive will wipe stuff off of it but I have crap on the drive where windows is installed too so I don't know how to go about that. It's not about making my pc go faster, just more about clearing up space and I don't want to do it all manually or do a half assed job where I only get some stuff but not all of it.

If you have some files that you don't need - delete them.

If you have programs that you don't want - uninstall them.

If you are worry about some files that takes 0.5% of your SSD and you don't know what they are for - leave them. It's not that some files will make your computer more dirty.

 

Seriously - made something more interesting on computer than installing operating system. You spend some money on hardware so use that hardware not for pointless reinstalling operating system. There is lot of more interesting work you can do on your computer (otherwise it was waste of money).

 

This is only my point of view, but too many people who wants everything "clean", ends with more problems.

[TaylorDean16]

5 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

If you have some files that you don't need - delete them.

If you have programs that you don't want - uninstall them.

If you are worry about some files that takes 0.5% of your SSD and you don't know what they are for - leave them. It's not that some files will make your computer more dirty.

 

Seriously - made something more interesting on computer than installing operating system. You spend some money on hardware so use that hardware not for pointless reinstalling operating system. There is lot of more interesting work you can do on your computer (otherwise it was waste of money).

 

This is only my point of view, but too many people who wants everything "clean", ends with more problems.

Dude if you can tell me how then please just do. I've got more than 3 empty text documents on my desktop that I would have to remove and I already said I didn't feel like manually doing stuff; it would take forever and wouldn't be worth it. I'm getting VR stuff soon so I need more space but I don't want to dedicate a bunch of time to deleting stuff. Also saying I can do more interesting stuff with the hardware I use is just stating the obvious. It's not like I just sit around resetting my computer all day every day, and I already know how to deal with installing drivers and all that kind of stuff.

[TaylorDean16]

12 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

well there is a button down in the menu at the disk. it has a eraser if I remember right

Thanks!

[Zmax]

Hi

 

Look in Youtube . Look for Windows 10 clean install .

 

Easy to do . The first one is a bit unnerving .

 

First You should make sure that you Windows you have, is registered. You can test this in your Microsoft account, your computer will be listed . Or you can check in your current Windows 10 in setting,Security,autorization

 

Then you are good to go . You don't even have to enter the key in the installation just use the Do Later or something similar.

[RobbinM]

To make sure I do a clean install I simply delete the logical volume on the harddisk during setup, and then create a new one and format it.

I think it's certainly a good idea to do a fresh install once in a while.

Windows after all still uses a registry that gets cluttered with old entries after a while.

[homeap5]

29 minutes ago, RobbinM said:

To make sure I do a clean install I simply delete the logical volume on the harddisk during setup, and then create a new one and format it.

I think it's certainly a good idea to do a fresh install once in a while.

Windows after all still uses a registry that gets cluttered with old entries after a while.

Registry is database, like this forum, like FB, like many others databases. Access to any entry in registry is basically instant - programs don't need to search for registry entry (like registry editors do). Slowing down because of registry entries is a myth created by people who made all that useless and even dangerous registry cleaners. You can use Windows by years without reinstalling anything, with lot of programs, and your system speed remains the same.

 

About dealing with unwanted files - good filemanager is what is needed to speed up process. For lazy people - even Ccleaner (if use just for delete unwanted files, not for registry optimization).

[TaylorDean16]

8 hours ago, Zmax said:

Hi

 

Look in Youtube . Look for Windows 10 clean install .

 

Easy to do . The first one is a bit unnerving .

 

First You should make sure that you Windows you have, is registered. You can test this in your Microsoft account, your computer will be listed . Or you can check in your current Windows 10 in setting,Security,autorization

 

Then you are good to go . You don't even have to enter the key in the installation just use the Do Later or something similar.

Great, thanks! I wasn't sure about how to activate windows afterwards since I bought a digital licence through the windows store when I first built it so this helps!

[TaylorDean16]

7 hours ago, RobbinM said:

To make sure I do a clean install I simply delete the logical volume on the harddisk during setup, and then create a new one and format it.

I think it's certainly a good idea to do a fresh install once in a while.

Windows after all still uses a registry that gets cluttered with old entries after a while.

Thank you!!

[RobbinM]

On 12/17/2018 at 11:02 AM, homeap5 said:

Registry is database, like this forum, like FB, like many others databases. Access to any entry in registry is basically instant - programs don't need to search for registry entry (like registry editors do). Slowing down because of registry entries is a myth created by people who made all that useless and even dangerous registry cleaners. You can use Windows by years without reinstalling anything, with lot of programs, and your system speed remains the same.

I agree that you can use Windows for years. I don't agree that the speed will remain the same though. You might not notice it slowing down, but in my experience, it does.

Your tips are useful and I agree that using a registry cleaner might do more harm than it helps.

Linus made a video on the topic of keeping an old system up to speed a while back:

 

[homeap5]

5 hours ago, RobbinM said:

I agree that you can use Windows for years. I don't agree that the speed will remain the same though. You might not notice it slowing down, but in my experience, it does.

Speed remains the same. The same files contains the same bytes, registry is a database so access is basically the same no matter of registry size. You can see some slow down when you using lot of programs that start with windows or add some system functions (like RMB options for example), but you can't notice any difference because of time! The same system after month or year will be the same fast (or the same slow, depends on CPU, ram, hdd etc.).

 

In my work I have Windows XP on one machine. I check installation date and it was... 12 years ago!

And this system was moved (imaged / restored) from one drive to another (3 times as far as I remember) and meanwhile I changed motherboard too. No delay, everything works like new.

 

"Clean" install makes impression of speed because its first boot, but after a week, and when you'll install everything you need, speed remains the same for long time, even forever.

[RobbinM]

A power users PC may become a cluttered a lot faster than the avarage office PC. 

With the right tools you can clean your system itself, but in many cases, a fresh install will be faster to do and more thorough as well.

A computer will not become bloated by itself though, in that sense you are right.

In practice, most PC's will become cluttered without the user even noticing, just by 'using' it. That why I said that a PC will be slower after time.

[homeap5]

You measure only startup and shutdown. That is not the way. For example - install UltraVNC and your shutdown time will be much slower. Install Display Fusion and your startup will be slower. Install other useful tools and it will take another few seconds to start or shutdown. BUT fast computer is not only start and shutdown. It's also work - many tools speed up your work even if delay start. Startup is only 0.05% time you using your computer. Tools that improve your computer work are more important that fast startup. And I'm talking about computer speed, not just few second delay of startup. If you do nothing interesting except restarting computer then yes - it may be important factor, but I prefer to add more tools that speed up my work instead having "clean" system that starts faster by 5 or 10 seconds.